Chapter 4 Caulder
My inner dragon was restless. Bechora had been gone for nearly two months without a word.
Logically, I knew she was safe in Lucifer Morningstar’s care, but explaining that to my beast was another story.
I’d taken to shadowing her friends to appease his need to do something.
My mate treasured them, therefore so did he.
The Nightshade girl, however, seemed determined to test just how far she could push me before my dragon’s instincts to hoard and protect overtook all sense.
At least the boy seemed to have some consideration.
The electricity mage holed himself up in the Library, content to study every text on the shelves while we waited for Bechora’s return.
The day before the start of term, I felt her presence draw near.
My beast thrashed beneath my skin, eager to seek her out, but the man was hesitant.
The last time I spoke with my mate was when she confronted me about hiding what I was to her.
She’d agreed to give me a chance to prove myself and then promptly been snatched away by Lucifer.
I couldn’t help wondering if the reason she hadn’t contacted me while she was gone was that she’d changed her mind.
For the moment, I allowed cowardice to win out.
I wasn’t ready to face the possibility that she’d reject me.
Which only seemed to grow more likely in my mind when she didn’t seek me out upon her return.
I was hiding in my office the morning after I felt her presence return to the Academy when there was a knock at the door.
Part of me hoped it was her, though I steeled myself for her rejection anyway.
I sat, frozen in my seat with indecision, until the knocks became more insistent.
Forcing myself up, I moved to the door and jerked it open.
Rather than my mate, I found Dante and Vallynn standing on the other side.
The fae prince rested his weight against the gargoyle; his clothing was disheveled, and he had dark purple circles beneath his eyes.
“You look like shit.” The words were out before I could stop them. I’d never seen the fae male anything but immaculately put together, and his current appearance was disconcerting.
A muscle ticked in Dante’s jaw while Vallynn just looked at me.
I stepped back, motioning for them to enter my office.
The gargoyle helped the prince to one of the chairs in front of my desk as I closed the door.
He didn’t settle into the other, standing beside Vallynn as if he expected the male to fall out of his seat at any moment, and he wanted to be ready to grab him before he hit the floor.
“To what do I owe this visit?” I asked, moving to take my own seat opposite them.
“We have a problem,” Vallynn spoke, his voice strained as if getting the words out were a struggle. “My spy inside my father’s inner circle has apparently been executed while I was away.”
My brows raised. There’d been news of an execution. Some traitor in the king’s midst. I’d had my suspicions, but no way to confirm it was the prince’s spy.
“We need to regroup. Figure out a new plan to find out who my father is targeting and how we can get to them first.” Vallynn continued.
“Even if we have the names, there’s nothing we can do,” I said. “The Academy is locked down. Students aren’t able to leave campus, even staff have been moved within the wards to prevent them leaving without authorization from the Dean.”
“So, we use Vallynn’s rank and force the Dean to give us authorization,” Dante replied.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my desk with a sigh, and rubbed my temples.
“Not even the heir to the throne can sway the Dean on this, I’m afraid.
All staff have been advised to ensure that you don’t leave campus.
The order came directly from your father, from what I’ve been able to gather.
No one, not even the Dean, is willing to weather your father’s wrath for endangering the heir. ”
“There has to be something we can do.” Dante insisted, his hand gripping the back of Vallynn’s chair hard enough to make it creak.
“I didn’t say there wasn’t,” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’ve been given special dispensation to leave campus. The Dean thought it too risky to let my dragon fly within the Academy’s warding.”
Dante snorted. “Afraid you might eat someone?”
“Yes,” I replied, letting the weak attempt at an insult slide. “Dragons don’t do well in cramped spaces. For as large as the campus is, when I’m on two legs, the warding leaves an abysmally small area for my dragon to fly. A cranky, cooped-up dragon is dangerous for everyone.”
“That just leaves the matter of figuring out who my father’s targeting next,” Vallynn supplied. “With my inside man gone, we have no way of knowing who he’s after next, and we’ve yet to figure out the most important piece of the puzzle: why.”
I straightened up, leaning back in my chair and drumming my fingers on my desk as I tried to think through a solution.
We had a list of the missing from last term, but that wouldn’t tell us who was next.
Not unless we could find a pattern. A thought occurred to me, and as much as I hated it, I couldn’t shake it.
It would mean putting Bechora in danger if anyone were ever to find out.
Selir knew I couldn’t ask her friend Miles for help without her involving herself.
And yet, if anyone was capable of sorting through the information we had and making head or tail of it, it was the electricity mage, currently tucked away in the library.
“I can tell from your face you have an idea, spill it,” Vallynn spoke, pulling me from my thoughts.
My lip curled into a snarl, and I grimaced. “There is a student who may be able to make sense of the list of those missing from the realm.”
“Absolutely not!” Vallynn interjected. “I’m not bringing someone else into this.”
“Val… We really don’t have a choice.” Dante said. “If not another student, we should really consider bringing my father into it. He can get us the information we need.”
I hummed in agreement. Dante’s father would be a useful asset for our mission to undermine the king. He was part of Evarian’s personal guard and likely had intimate knowledge of all the king’s plans. Why the fools hadn’t brought him in before now was beyond me.
Vallynn let out a petulant groan and sank further into the chair. “I told you why we can’t do that last term, Dante.”
“For once, I agree with the gargoyle. We don’t have another choice. Unless you prefer to do nothing and let your father continue unchecked.”
Vallynn’s face fell, and his shoulders slumped forward in defeat.
It was noble of him to want to keep anyone else from being involved in our treason, but it was necessary.
As much as I wanted to pretend otherwise, I wasn’t going to be able to keep Bechora out of it much longer, either.
At least, if I brought her in on my terms, I could keep her safe, and Vallynn would be none the wiser.
“Fine,” Vallynn said finally. “We’ll find a way to contact him without raising suspicion, but nobody else is to be brought into this.”
I nodded even though I fully intended to disregard his demand.
“Arrangements are being made for parents to visit campus soon. Many of them weren’t able to retrieve their students during the break, and rather than risk an angry mob of them at the gates, the Dean has decided to invite them in for a day.
Once the date is set, write to him and tell him to come.
We can fill him in on the rest in person. ”
“Great. That’s settled.” Dante said, clapping his hands together. “Unless there’s something else, I’m ready to head to the dining hall and grab some food. Vallynn?”
“I’m good,” Vallynn waved his hand as if dismissing the other male.
“I’ll send word when I know the day,” I said.
Vallynn stood carefully from his seat, and Dante moved to his side, letting the fae lean against him as they made their way from my office.
I stared after them, long after the door closed behind them, lost in thought.
The warding around the Academy meant the students would be safe.
Involving Bechora’s mage friend wouldn’t put him in more direct danger, I reasoned with myself.
Beyond that, I couldn’t keep hiding away and acting the coward, afraid that my mate had changed her mind and planned to reject me.
My beast was already pressing the edges of my control.
Staying away from Bechora, when I could feel her presence on campus, would only fray my hold over him faster.
Taking a calming breath, I nodded to myself.
Tomorrow I would find my mate and discover whether I still had a chance to make things right.